1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to product dispensing and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to methods and apparatus for a paddlewheel design that is equally effective in either rotation direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the post-mix beverage dispensing industry, most beverages are served with a form of ice. Beverage dispenser manufacturers have long since integrated ice dispensers into beverage dispensers. Most dispensers on the market use an interior ice bin that may be manually or automatically filled. Ice in the ice bin is then picked up by a rotating paddlewheel having tangs or another product engagement device, passed over an opening, and dispensed through a chute into an operator's cup.
While variations in paddlewheels exist for different products and vendors, most paddlewheels scoop or push a product to a dispensing port. Most paddlewheels are unidirectional, meaning that they are not equally effective in moving product when rotated in two opposite directions. The need for a second direction of rotation did not appear in the beverage dispensing industry until two dispensers were combined to create a high capacity unit. In dual dispenser applications having a single bin, it has been found that it is not advantageous to have two paddlewheels rotating in the same direction. The same rotation pattern tends to move ice in the bin to one side of the dispenser. As such, a second variation of the paddlewheel had to be tooled, manufactured and inventoried.
Additionally, the tangs are susceptible to excessively high loading when an obstruction enters the ice path. Objects caught in the path of the paddlewheel tangs can cause the tangs to shear off of the paddlewheel, enter the ice dispense path, and ultimately, be dispensed into an operator's cup.
Accordingly, a dual rotation paddlewheel having an increased strength could eliminate the problems associated with tang breakage, while simultaneously reducing the inventory and tooling costs associated with single rotation direction paddlewheels.